Autherine Lucy

Autherine Juanita Lucy (5 October 1929-) was the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, enrolling in 1956. Lucy was accepted into the school in 1952 before finding herself rejected when the school discovered her race; it was not until 1956 that she would be able to enroll, after a court forced the university to accept her again.

Biography
Autherine Juanita Lucy was born in Shiloh, Alabama, the youngest of nine children born to a family of sharecroppers. She graduated from Linden Academy in 1947 and attended Selma University and Miles College, graduating from Miles with a BA degree in English in 1952. In September 1952, Lucy applied to the University of Alabama, and she was accepted by the college. However, her application was rescinded when the university found out that she was black, and Lucy worked as an English teacher and an insurance company secretary in Carthage, Mississippi while working with the NAACP to sue the school. She was admitted to the university in 1955 after a court order forced the university to accept her again, although she was not allowed into the dining halls or dormitories. On 3 February 1956, she enrolled as a graduate student in library science, becoming the first African-American to attend the school. However, she would be expelled later that month for suing the Dean of Women and for her NAACP involvement, with the college claiming that it had suspended her becasue white rioters were a safety risk for her. In 1974, she would become a teacher in Birmingham after years of struggle, and she was allowed to return to the University of Alabama in 1989 after her expulsion was annulled.